Since I started visiting Sweden last year and have spent one full and wonderful summer here as a resident, I've been finding more and more overwhelming evidence that Sweden Is Adorable. One cultural phenomenon that initially felt a little too over-the-top and cheesy when I first witnessed it was the sing-along. Swedes love to sing, they tend to sing quite well, and they especially like to sing all together in very large groups.
One of my goals for next summer is to attend the famous Allsång på Skansen, a huge sing-along that started 75 years ago at Stockholm's outdoor park/zoo/cultural museum. Ten to fifteen THOUSAND people attend this weekly event in the summertime, showing up to wait in line ridiculously early in the morning in order to get a good seat and hopefully get their smiling, singing faces broadcast live to the whole country:
Look at these people, standing out in the rain and loving it! There are a few different live sing-along programs on TV throughout the summer, and they always include the lyrics so everyone at home can watch and sing along.
Not only is the sing-along phenomenon popular in the summertime, but at any social occasion with an excuse to belt out a birthday, wedding, holiday, or drinking song. When I attended a birthday party earlier this spring I was surprised to find pages of numbered song lyrics at every plate, and all the guests linked arms, swayed back and forth, and cheerfully bellowed out the songs between bites of the meal. I felt pretty silly at first and I was giggling like crazy, but it was quite honestly a blast. Later on there was a live band with song quizzes and competitions which was also a lot of fun.
Now I just have to learn all these songs in Swedish....
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